About the Book You want this to be a love story? If someone hurts your sister and you’re any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother’s accused of a terrible crime but says he didn’t do it, you defend him, don’t you? When Mikey’s sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart. When Ellie’s brother is charged with the offence, her world begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. This is a brave and unflinching novel from the bestselling author of Before I Die. It’s a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it’s a book about love. jenny downham Contents Cover About the Book Title Copyright Dedication Praise Also by Jenny Downham Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Chapter Twenty-six Chapter Twenty-seven Chapter Twenty-eight Chapter Twenty-nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-one Chapter Thirty-two Chapter Thirty-three Chapter Thirty-four Chapter Thirty-five Chapter Thirty-six Chapter Thirty-seven Chapter Thirty-eight Chapter Thirty-nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-one Chapter Forty-two Chapter Forty-three Chapter Forty-four Chapter Forty-five Acknowledgements Before I Die This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781409048206 www.randomhouse.co.uk YOU AGAINST ME A DAVID FICKLING BOOK 978 0 385 61350 7 Published in Great Britain by David Fickling Books, a division of Random House Children’s Books A Random House Group Company This edition published 2010 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Copyright © Jenny Downham, 2010 The right of Jenny Downham to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. DAVID FICKLING BOOKS 31 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2NP www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk www.rbooks.co.uk Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. For HJD and AKD Praise for Jenny Downham’s first book, Before I Die: ‘Before I Die is one of the year’s standout books.’ Sunday Age ‘This is a novel with enormous breadth and power … Highly recommended.’ Reading Time ‘A transcendent, remarkable work.’ Magpies ‘Before I Die is one of the finest, most carefully structured and astonishingly assured novels I have read in a long time.’ Viewpoint ‘Downham takes the reader to the sticking place, the place which we never, ever want to let ourselves see, but she does not leave us alone there.’ Courier-Mail ‘Jenny Downham writes with elegance and perception. Only an iron heart could not shed a tear or have a chuckle. Tessa may be my favourite literary heroine.’ Daily Telegraph ‘This debut from a British writer is one of the standout reads of the year … A shocking, absorbing and defiantly humorous story that is unsentimental and deeply moving.’ The New Zealand Herald ‘Relentlessly detailed, totally honest and authentic, colossally carthartic.’ New Zealand Listener ‘Dealing frankly with teenage life, Before I Die will be the year’s most talked- about novel … Novels for young teenagers do not usually feature drugs and casual sex within the first 20-odd pages. But most books for teenagers will not leave an adult reader’s eyes so blurry with tears that it’s hard to see the final chapters. Jenny Downham’s extraordinary first novel does both.’ Sunday Times ‘Downham’s prose is brave and bare, her characters relentlessly realistic.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Destined to drive hundreds of thousands of readers to tears and to swift injunctions to all their friends to read it … Yet the intolerability of what’s to come spotlights a subtle truth, which Downham has captured well. That in life, despite all the warnings, no one ever quite believes the ending.’ Observer ‘This is an affecting and brave novel. Tessa is such a rich character … For everyone, it is a reminder to value the people that matter, seize the moment, wish with courage, adventure with relish.’ Guardian ‘I don’t care how old you are. This book will not leave you.’ New York Times ‘The eloquent dying teen can seem a staple of the YA novel, but this British debut completely breaks the mold. Downham holds nothing back in her wrenching and exceptionally vibrant story.’ Publisher’s Weekly ‘In luminous prose that rings completely true, Downham earns every tear she wrings from her readers. I trust there will be many of them – many readers, and of course, many tears.’ Entertainment Weekly